MIND / TELEVISION M
Three classic Open venues to savour at ‘majors’ Oakmont, Portrush & Bethpage are a trio to challenge the best.
By Stuart McLean
O ne of the all-time great courses in major championship history will be again hosting the US Open in 2025. Oakmont Country Club, near Pittsburgh in Pennsylva- nia, is where Ernie Els claimed his first major title at the 1994 US Open. That was South African golf’s Annus Mi- rabilis, with Els winning the US Open in June, then Nick Price enjoying suc- cess at The Open in July and US PGA in August. Three consecutive major wins by players from one country other than America. The only time it has hap- pened in a modern Grand Slam year. A US Open at Oakmont, and Open
nations, and McIlroy suffered a bad start at each, 77 at Oakmont and 79 at Portrush. On the other hand, McIlroy must be looking forward to the US PGA return- ing to Quail Hollow in North Carolina, a course where he has already won four times. Worldwide TV viewership of golf is said to have been declining substan- tially in recent years, mainly because its entertainment value has become diluted. There’s a variety of reasons to blame for this lack of interest – among them, the disruption caused by LIV Golf, the steady weakening of the DP World Tour, and modern technology
Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, will highlight the 2025 “Major Season” which begins in March with The Players Championship and culminates in the Ryder Cup at the end of September at one of best courses to have hosted this match in its 98-year history, Bethpage Black out- side New York. For those backing Rory McIlroy to win a long-awaited fifth major trophy in 2025 – his first since 2014 – it might concern his fans to learn that of the 12 cuts he has missed in 62 major appear- ances beginning in 2009, two were at Oakmont in 2016 and Royal Portrush in 2019. They are formidable exami-
PHOTO BY DOM FURORE
26 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
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